Objectives: The purpose of this review to collate current leading scientific advances of molecular mechanisms in alcoholic liver diseases and to propose a working "hypothesis of seven balances" in relation to peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα), which has important roles in fatty acid oxidation, oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and possibly liver fibrosis. Methods: We conducted an extensive literature review of over a hundred publications and collated the findings with evidence generated in our laboratory. Results: Our research points to a working hypothesis of seven balances for alcoholic liver diseases consisting of: 1) ethanol oxidation balance in hepatocytes; 2) PPAR α activities in liver; 3) fatty acid metabolism balance in hepatic mitochondria; 4) gastrointestinal response to ethanol, acetaldehyde and lipopolysaccharide (LPS); 5) Kupffer cells response to LPS, oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines; 6) adiponectin levels in plasma interchangeably regulated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α); and 7) stellate cells response to all of the above promoting hepatic fibrosis. Cellular mechanisms behind alcoholic liver diseases reveal close temporal associations of PPARα, adiponectin, TNF-α, cellular inflammation, proliferation, and potentially fibrosis as illustrated in "the hypothesis of seven balances." Conclusions: The regulation and adjustment of PPARα activation underlying the balance of molecular cascades might resolve the progression of alcoholic liver diseases by reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory effects induced by nuclear factor-κB as well as the associated adiponectin pathway. Further elucidation of these pathways would reveal exciting new prospects for treating alcoholic liver diseases and other related liver disorders.

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Objectives: To describe the pattern of associations with sunscreen use of sun protection attitudes and knowledge in a large sample of New Zealand outdoor workers. We also examined the relationship between perceived skin type and perceived risk of developing skin cancer. Methods: Outdoor workers from nine occupational groups (n=1,131) completed a questionnaire, which included measures of skin cancer related risk perceptions, knowledge and sunscreen use. Results: Sunscreen use was associated with perceived prioritization of sun-protection, concern about sun-exposure, knowledge about the effects of sun-exposure and perceived supportive workplace culture. These variables accounted for 37% of the variation in sunscreen use. Maori, younger workers and forestry workers least likely to report sunscreen use and sun-exposure risk perception. Conclusions: Interventions that strengthen knowledge about risks and values of sun protection are likely to increase sun protection efforts. However, interventions for outdoor workers need to take into account potential socio-demographic, personal and workplace influences are required to prevent the risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancers within this population group.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate how subjective sleepiness, mood states, simple and high-order cognitive performance change after one night of sleep deprivation (SD) and recover to after 7 h normal recovery sleep opportunity during three recovery days. Methods: Ten healthy subjects participated in this study. We measured their subjective sleepiness, mood states and their performances of 2 simple tasks and 4 high-order cognitive tasks twice a day for 5 days, on the baseline day, post-vigil day and 3 recovery days after SD. This study was conducted considering each participant's motivation for task, learning effect and diurnal variation of performance. Results: The performances of simple tasks such as addition or short-term memory were not reduced after SD and were the poorest on the baseline day, and improved gradually; however the high-order cognitive performances were at their lowest on the post-vigil day and needed 2 recovery sleep opportunities to return to the baseline level. Fatigue and confusion in mood states and subjective sleepiness were also at their lowest after SD. Subjective sleepiness nearly recovered to the baseline level on the 1st recovery day, but fatigue and confusion reached the baseline levels on the 2nd recovery day. Conclusion: These results suggest that cognitive deterioration and the recovery process may differ between simple task performance and high-order cognitive task performance, which needed 2 ordinary sleep opportunities to recover to the baseline level, and the change of subjective mood states were also different for each mood.

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Objectives: Nanomaterials are used in a wide variety of industrial materials such as semiconductors, magnetic resonance imaging, gene delivery carriers for gene therapy and many others; thus, human seems to be frequently exposed to them. Such diverse applications of nanoparticles elicit the need to identify the positive aspects of nanomaterials while avoiding the potential toxic effects. In this study, inhalation toxicity of manufactured nanomaterials using fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles (FMNPs) was assessed to address the issue of potential nanoparticle toxicity. Methods: Biological samples from a previous mouse FMNP exposure experiment were analyzed for potential FMNP toxicity. Mice inhaled FMNPs for 4 wk through a nose-only exposure chamber developed by our group for 4 wk and the potential toxicity of FMNPs was analyzed. Results: The nanoparticle distribution by scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) analysis showed that the mean values of number concentration (mass concentrations) in the nose-only exposure chamber were maintained at 4.89×10⁵/cm³ (approximately 159.4 μg/m³) for the low concentration and 9.34×10⁵/cm³ (approximately 319.5 μg/m³) for the high concentration, respectively. Inhalation of FMNPs caused a decrease of body weight and significant changes of white blood cells (WBCs) levels in whole blood. The FMNPs induced extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen without having a pulmonary effect. Conclusions: Our results support the proposition that extensive toxicity evaluation is needed for practical applications of anthropogenic nanomaterials and suggest that careful regulation of nanoparticle applications may be necessary to maintain a high quality of life as well as for facilitating the development of nanotechnology.

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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess ambient Bisphenol A (BPA) levels in workplaces and urine BPA levels of workers. Methods: Workers in epoxy resin and BPA manufacturing factories were recruited. Personal samples for airborne BPA were taken in the workshops and spot urine samples were collected from workers before and after their shifts. The samples were assayed with high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. TWA₈ of airborne PBA in the workplaces and biological BPA burden of the workers were calculated. Correlations between the external and the internal exposure levels were sought. Results: Workers from the factories were occupationally exposed to BPA at median personal airborne levels of 6.67 μg/m³ (or at the mean of 450 μg/m³). More than 90% of the workers who were occupationally exposed to BPA had detectable BPA levels in their blood samples. The medians of creatinine-adjusted urinary BPA levels were 84.6 μg/g Cr and 111 μg/g Cr pre- and post-shift (means of 4,630 μg/g Cr and 5,400 μg/g Cr), respectively. The urinary BPA concentration post-shift was significantly associated with the urinary BPA level pre-shift and personal airborne BPA levels. Conclusions: It was indicated that workers in epoxy resin and BPA manufacturing factories are occupationally exposed to BPA at high levels. There is an urgent need to create occupational standards and take effective preventive measures to protect workers from the potential adverse effects of BPA.

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Objective: To determine whether a commercial coping skills training program shown to reduce psychosocial risk factors in randomized clinical trials of patients with coronary heart disease is also effective in achieving similar improvements among stressed workers in a real world corporate setting. Methods: Conduct an observational trial to evaluate the impact of the Williams LifeSkillsR Workshop on depression, social support, anxiety, and hostility in a sample of 110 employees working at multiple U.S. sites of a client of Williams LifeSkills, Inc. Results: All psychosocial risk factors showed highly significant improvements from pre- to post-training. Except for social support, these improvements were maintained at six months follow-up. Conclusions: These findings provide support for the effectiveness of the Williams LifeSkills^R Workshop by suggesting that its efficacy, as demonstrated in randomized clinical trials, generalizes to real world settings like the multiple U.S. work sites of a corporate client.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the associations between burnout and occupational stress measured by demand-control support (DCS) and effort-reward imbalance (ERI) models among lawyers. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 180 lawyers from 26 law firms in the Taipei Bar. The Chinese version of Karasek's job content questionnaire (C-JCQ) and the Chinese version of Siegrist's ERI questionnaire (C-ERI) were used to measure occupational stress, and the Chinese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (C-CBI) questionnaire was used to measure personal, work-related and client-related burnout. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between burnout and lawyers' occupational stress and job specialty adjusting for age, gender, marital status, work experience, working hours per day, firm size and the significant occupational stress of each model for the other. Results: Lawyers reported relatively higher scores in job control, psychological demands and effort, and high prevalence of self-perceived work stress. Litigious lawyers had higher decision authority and workplace social support, higher work-related burnout and higher client-related burnout than non-litigious lawyers. Personal burnout and work-related burnout were associated with high psychological demands, effort, and effort-reward ratio. Conclusions: High occupational stress was associated with high levels of personal and work-related burnout among lawyers.

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